Theater and dance for teaching math? Math for teaching art? Arts integration is not only a great idea, but a great idea in the news. A recent story in the Education section of the Washington Post describes students from kindergarten through middle school learning mathematical concepts through the arts. You can find a description of kindergarten role playing lessons to teach “big” “small” and units of measurement. But don’t make the mistake of thinking the arts are only useful for teaching math to young children. By clicking on an additional link you can see middle school students though sculpture. Or how about exploring the Fractal Foundation for strategies for integrating math, art, and science through the study of fractals?
Want some more ideas? Here are just a few.
The Art Curator for Kids has a section on lessons integrating art and math
Scroll down the National Gallery of Art site to find math/art activities for grades K-12
And this Student Guide is a treasure trove of math/art resources, organized by math content. It is one of those sites that is dangerous in its bounty—I have to admit I spent more time exploring than I intended. For example, it led me to the American Mathematical Society’s site on Mathematical Imagery. Want to see mathematical origami? Crochet? LEGO sculptures? The variety is astonishing. Imagine challenging students to create an image to represent one of the concepts you are teaching. It could be a simple crayon drawing, or it could be limited only by your collective imaginations.
More next time. Math. Art. Imagine the possibilities!
